lampoet



(No Model.)

G. S. LEWIS & A. G. LAMPORT.

BREEGH LOADING FIRE ARM.

No. 371,605. Patented Oct. 18,1887.

WITNESSES: [M #12104,

ATTORNEYS.

N. PETERS, mmumm. Washington, ac.

'NITED STATES PAT NT GEORGE S. LEWIS AND ALBERT G. LAMPORT, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK,

ASSIGNORS TO THE'LE FEVER ARMS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 371,605, dated October 18,1887.

Application filed January 24, 1887. Serial No. 225,405.

To all whom it may concern.- Be it known that we, GEORGE S. LEWIS and ALBERT G. LAMPORT, of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York,

have invented new and useful Improvements in Breech-Loading Fire-Arms, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

Our invention relates to improvements in the class of breech-loading fire-arms using socalled concealed hammers, in which the hammers are incased in the shell of the breech out of sight; and the object of the invention is to provide means for connecting the top lever, which throws or releases the looking-bolt from the top fastener by suitable means,whereby the toplever swings back to its normal position immediatelywhen released after breaking the arm, and remains at rest when the barrels are closed and locked to the breech, and also toso construct the means for throwing up the hammers as thearm isbroken as to compel the push rod or lever used for this purpose-to clear the hammer when the barrels are closed, thus relieving the hammer from throwing back the push-lever and overcoming the tendency of the arm to miss fire, which frequently occurs now when the parts get gummed up so as to work with difficulty; and to this end our invention consists in providing a locking-bolt with a pin projecting upward from a slot in the tang, and providing the top lever with a recess coincident with the slot in the tang when the lever is in its normal position, into which the pin projects against the forward shoulder of the recess, whereby the bolt is allowed a free rearward movement without moving the toplever when the top lever is at rest, as more particularly described hereinafter; and

lit furthermore consists in connecting the pushlever for cocking the hammers to the actuating-eccentric by means of a link or toggle, whereby the push-lever is withdrawn from its contact with the hammer after having cocked the hammer when the barrels are closed and locked to the breech, all as more fully hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In specifying our invention reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which, like lever or snap action.

(No model.)

letters indicating corresponding parts, Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section and with the side plate broken away, for the purpose of illustrating our invention applied to the breech-loading firearm. Fig. 2 is a top plan with the top lever removed, showing the slot in the tang and the pin extending upward from the locking-bolt lying in the slot. Fig. 3 shows an enlarged detached detail of the push-lever and eccentric for cocking the hammers; and Fig. 4 shows an inverted plan of the top lever provided with a recess which, when the top lever is applied in position, as shown in Fig. 1, is coincident with the slot in the tang.

A represents the breech of a breech-loading firearm, and B the barrels, pivoted to the breech in the usual manner, the breech A being provided with a recess, F, for the top fastener, E, secured to the barrels, to engage with, and also with the locking-bolt a, provided with the nose m, which takes in the notch 41- in the top fastener, E, when the barrels are closed, and the said bolt a forms the main lockingbolt of the action and serves to lock the barrels B securely to the breech A.

D is the top lever, constructed in the usual manner, with the exception presently ex plained. v

The parts thus fardescribed are constructed in the form and manner of the so-called concealed-hammer guns,which are well known to those skilled in the art, and the action of this class of guns is what is usually termed top- In this form of action (while in many respects it has been the most desirable, for the reason that the arm is readily broken by simply swinging the top lever to one side on its pivot, which is easily accomplished, since the top lever is pivoted so as to secure considerable leverage) there has been a serious objection, for the reason that in the ordinary construction the top lever was actuated by both the opening and closing of the barrels, causing great strain on its pivot and vibration, making the action hard and soon worn out; and the chief object of our present invention is to so connect the top lever to the lockingbolt as to prevent one movement of the top lever in the operation of open-- ing and closing the barrels, thus reducing the wear and strain on the parts one-half at least, and thereby greatly increasing the durability and ease of movement of the action; and this desirable result we secure by providing the stud-pin b, Fig. 1, secured to the top of the locking-bolt a, and slotting the tang T at c, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and providing the top lever, D, with the recess a, Fig. 4, the

.1 said recess n being coincident with the slot 0 when the top lever, D,is in its normal position, and the pin b extends up into the recess n, engaging with the forward end or shoulder, n, of the said recess.

It will be observed that when the top lever, D, is swung off on its pivot 0 the shoulder or forward end, 11/, of the recess in the top lever retracts the pin 12, carrying the locking-bolt a with it, thus releasing the nose m of the bolt from the notch z in the top fastener, E, and allowing the barrels B to tilt on the hinge pin or pivot, thereby breaking the arm. When the top lever is released, it is immediately returned to its normal position by the spring of the action, and the slot 0 and recess a permit the locking-bolt to be retracted by the contact ofthe curved portion Z of the top fastener colliding with the curved nose Z of the locking- .bolt when the barrels are closed without moving the top lever, D, thus securing the desired result.

The hammers d are cocked when the arm is broken by means of the push-1ever e pushing against the shoulder a of the hammer d by the eccentric g, pivoted at the forward end of a the recess so as to swing backward as the strap 0, having the recess h, collides with the rectangular end of the eccentric .g, and, as heretofore constructed, the rod 0 was detached from the eccentric g, and was forced back to its normal position by the forward movement of the hammer (1 when the arm was discharged, and when the arm was used for a while the parts were liable to become gunimed and sticky, and the force required to push forward the lever e frequently caused arms of this class to miss fire; and to overcome this defect and to secure a greater leverage on the rod 0 we secure the push lever or rod 6 to the eccentric g by means of the link or toggle connection f, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and construct the recess hin the foreend strap 0 of the form shown in Fig: 1, and this construction secures the desired result,

for the reason that when the arm is brokenment, while the linkf, connecting the rod eto the eccentric 9, serves a double office by retracting the rod or push-lever e automatically as the barrels are closed after the arm has been opened for the purpose of inserting the charge.

ment with the notch in the top fastener, and

the arm then opens as the barrels tilt upward.

The fore-end strap 0 causes the eccentric g' to turn on its pivot g, and this movement pushes the lever or puslrrod e backward,cocking the hammers d, and after the charge is inserted the barrels are locked by pressing them down into place in the breech, and in this movement the top lever remains at rest in its normal position, while the push-lever e is re traeted to its normal position by means of the link or toggle connection f. The construction is simple, compact, and durable, and affords very effective means for the purposeintended.'

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a breech-loading fire-arm,-the combination of the locking'bolt provided with a pin projecting upward from the bolt into a slotin the tang, and the top lever provided with a recess coincident with the slot in the tang when the lever is in its normal position, the forward shoulder of the recess engaging with the pin to release the locking-bolt from the top fastener when the lever is swung from its normal position in breaking the arm, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination of the locking-bolt a, pivoted in the breech A, and provided with the pin b, projecting through slot cin the tang of the breech, with the top lever, D, having an elongated recess, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

3. The combination of the hammer (I, pushrod 6, and eccentric g, located at the forward end of the breech-extension, having the rod 6 connected thereto by a link, f, and the strap 0, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4.. The combination, in a fire-arm, of a locking-bolt and top lever connected together by an upwardly-projecting pin secured to the lockingbolt and an elongated recess in the top lever, whereby the bolt and top lever c0- operate in breaking the arm and act independently of each other in closing the same, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto signed our names, in the presence of two attesting witnesses, at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, this 19th day of January, 1887. I

GEORGE S. LEWIS. ALBERT G. LAMPORT.

Witnesses:

WM. S. ELY, FREDERIC H. GIBBS.

ICO 

